Moose on the Loose

STAMFORD -- A moose was struck by a car on the Merritt Parkway in New Canaan Tuesday afternoon, after eluding police and DEP officials throughout the region since Monday.

The extent of injuries was unknown immediately after the accident, which occurred near Exit 37 Southbound shortly before 4 p.m., but officials called for extrication tools to remove the driver from the car that struck the moose. Police at the scene called in a Department of Environmental Protection official, who killed the animal with a shotgun at the scene.

Police chased a moose Tuesday morning through the Sherwood Forest section of Stamford, across the tee box on the15th hole at Woodway Country Club and into Darien.

Suzie Binch of New Canaan was playing golf at Woodway when the moose gallop down the fairway. Golfers said they initially thought it was a horse.

"It was beautiful, majestic and frightened," Binch said. "One doesn't expect to see a moose in Connecticut."

A resident first reported spotting the moose while walking his dog on Prudence Drive, which is parallel to Hope Street near Weed Hill Avenue. Police pursued the moose on Columbus Place before it moved over to Bouton Street, Minivale Road and Prudence. During the chase, they ordered nearby Springdale School into lockdown mode.

Arthur Adams said he heard the moose coming up the driveway while he was in the kitchen of his home at 147 Highview Ave. in Springdale.

"I was sitting having a glass of water when I heard 'clump, clump' up the driveway," Adams said.

Adams stepped outside and saw the moose walk up his steep driveway. He got as close as 15 feet from the animal, he said, before it walked into his neighbor's backyard, turned around and walked down Adams' driveway.

Adams did not follow the moose.

"I thought he'd be a little upset, so I didn't want to get in his way," Adams said. "He's as big as a horse."

At about 11 a.m., police reported "he's going into Sherwood Forest," referring to the neighborhood of streets between Hope Street and Woodway Country Club in Darien. While waiting for DEP officials to arrive in hopes of tranquilizing the animal, police pursued it on Nottingham Drive, Robin Hood Road, Friar Tuck Lane and Little John Lane. An officer spotted the moose before it vanished behind 47 Robin Hood Road.

"He's big," one officer reported.

Eight police cars gathered at Nottingham and Friar Tuck, but couldn't catch up with the moose tracks. Shortly after noon, the moose was spotted walking along a creek off Woodway Road.

"At this point, it doesn't make any sense to chase him if we can't tranquilize him," an officer reported over the police scanner.

Police guided the DEP officer with a tranquilizer gun to Woodway Road, where officers spotted the moose crossing the river and head to the golf course. Though officers declared "they've got him cornered" after the moose was seen in the tee box on the 15th hole, the animal eluded them again and headed deeper into Darien.

"It's extremely rare for them to come down this far," said police Capt. Richard Conklin, head of the detective bureau.

Conklin said police believe it is the same moose police were tracking yesterday in neighborhoods in Easton near the Fairfield town line.

Connecticut DEP wildlife officials issued an advisory Monday that area residents should be vigilant because the moose sighted in Easton could continue heading south onto the Merritt or other roads in the area. They advised residents to keep their distance from the animal and notify the DEP off sightings at 860-424-3333, a 24-hour hotline.

Connecticut has a moose population of about 100, mostly in the northwest corner of the state, according to the DEP. Since January, three moose have been killed after being struck by cars, the DEP reported. The accidents are dangerous for drivers because the moose can weigh as much as 1,000 pounds, the DEP release states.

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